The Adventure of Zelda
by Beardless Dwarf
Summary: Zelda and Arizan both long for another adventure and when Zelda shouts some insults at Teacher, and Alfonzo 'overhears' rumors in town, they might get exactly what they wish for. This story is a Sequel to the Game Spirit Tracks. It is set ten years after the game, Arizan is the name used to represent Link. Rated T for violence and alcohol references.
1. Chapter 1: Zelda's Wish

Zelda sat in her office, finishing some legal papers. She looked out of the open window; the sun was shining and a breeze was blowing, making the day feel perfect. It was a day to be outside, enjoying the day, not paper-work. She sighed and remembered the day, all those years ago when Chancellor Cole had stolen her body. After she and Arizan had worked together to defeat Malladus, Arizan went on to become an Engineer while Zelda decided to remain in control of the Kingdom. She sighed again and wished that she could return for another adventure with the green-clad hero. But she knew that it could not happen. She had been the Princess for almost ten years and the people of Hyrule depended on her. _No, _she thought, _I won't be going on any adventures any time soon._ She placed her seal and signature on the papers and pushed them to the other side of the desk. _Paperwork,_ she thought, _I should hire someone else to do my paperwork._ She heard a noise and looked up, in the doorway was Teacher, her old caretaker. "Well, well, well," he began, "You have been quite busy as of late haven't you?" he motioned to the stack of papers that had fallen in the floor.

"Yes," Zelda sighed, "Being a Princess is so difficult! I wish I could go on another adventure!"

"Whatever are you talking about?" Teacher asked. "You've never been on an adventure!"

"Yes I have!" Zelda began before she remembered; _That's right, Arizan was the only person who could see me, besides the Lokomo._ "Nothing, Teacher," She said hastily. "It's only, I wish that I could take a month, or only a week and explore the land that I rule. To explore beyond the borders of stations! To learn what lies beyond!"

"Princess!" Teacher began frantically, "You can't mean it! You surely do not wish to live the rough life of the Explorers! Do you?"

"What if I do?" The Princess demanded impatiently. "Being a Princess is a lot of work, you know nothing about being royalty! You are nothing but an old man and a fool!"

Zelda could see that her words had smitten Teacher to his soul. She felt sorry for the old man and noticed a tear roll down his cheek.

"Very well then," he said trying to remain composed (though he did a poor job of it). "If that is how you feel, then my life is wasted. I am leaving, and I don't suppose I shall ever return."

Teacher turned and walked out of the room, weeping into his hands rather loudly.

"Teacher, wait!" Zelda called after him but it was too late, Teacher was gone.

Zelda jumped up and ran out of the door, down the spiral staircase and into the main part of the Castle. She asked everyone she saw about Teacher, but no one could answer, for the old man was gone. She ran out of the gate and into Castle Town. Again she asked everyone if they had seen Teacher but no one had. She heard a train whistle and looked toward the station. There! She saw someone with a hood on and walking with a cane. _Could it be him?_ She thought. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her toward the station but when she got there, the hooded man was nowhere to be seen. The whistle blew again and the train left the station.

Zelda sat down right in the middle of the station and began to sob. The sobbing turned to weeping and soon she was crying in the middle of the public. She had never felt worse in her life. Teacher, her caretaker of old and the person who cared most for the Princess, was gone; quite possibly forever. She could think of nothing to do but sit there. Soon the station was deserted, passengers had left and there would not be another train for a long time. She sat there long into the night, sobbing, weeping, crying and when she finally calmed down, she would begin all over again. She was helpless.


	2. Chapter 2: Rumors

Arizan sat down after his long day of Engineering. He looked at a picture on his bed-table. It was Niko, his old friend and house-mate. He sighed, remembering the day long ago when he was accepted as an Engineer. He fondly remembered the Princess and their adventures together. He had visited every few weeks but his visits became fewer and fewer until he visited only once a month, then once a year until now when he had absolutely no time to visit at all. His Engineering duties were far too many and he almost never had a break. He wished for another adventure; an adventure with the Princess. It would never happen, they were far too busy with their duties and Zelda was soon to become Queen of Hyrule. _I must be there for her Coronation, _he thought. He looked over at the small oven in his house. He would need to eat something after his long day. He had become quite the cook since Niko had died and left his estate to Arizan. He stood up and walked over to the cabinets. He opened door after door but nothing seemed to interest him at the moment. He closed the doors and jumped onto his bed, disappointedly. _Nothing sounds good,_ he thought.

He walked outside and looked up at the star-filled sky, not knowing that at this very moment, Princess Zelda was sitting alone at the Castle Town Station, crying herself sick over Teacher. He walked out into the midst of Aboda Village where he was greeted by Alfonzo, his old Engineering Mentor. Alfonzo had retired from Engineering five or six years ago and settled on fixing old trains. He enjoyed his job and was rather good at it but tonight something was on his mind and he needed someone he could trust.

"Good evening, Arizan," he said, "How has the Engineering business been going?"

"Fairly," Arizan replied. He was a man of few words but full of thoughts and ideas. He could often be found writing his thoughts whenever possible, just to get them out of his head. "But you did not come to ask me about my career, did you?"

"Nothing gets past you does it?" the old Engineer replied.

Arizan shrugged and raised an eyebrow.

"Well something has been on my mind as of late," Alfonzo began, "Something of importance to both you and the Princess."

Arizan, who had not been paying much attention, perked up and began listening intently at the mention of the Princess.

"Well," Alfonzo said, "Strange rumors have been passing from Engineers and other folk at the Milk Bar here in town. I couldn't help but overhear them. They say that _monsters_ have returned to the land, and some trains are being hijacked! The hijackers are odd they say, not monsters but definitely not Hylians. I don't know what to make of it all."

Arizan nodded and said: "Continue, please," knowing that there was more to be told.

"I just want you to know that I don't doubt you for a second, I know you saved the Princess and the Kingdom-er-Princ—ess—dom? Well anyway, they say that YOU have been part of the hijackers but not looking like yourself. They say you've been dressing yourself in black and hiding your face so now one can tell but you are the only person that dresses like that anymore what with the Royal Guards getting new uniforms."

Arizan was puzzled, not knowing exactly what to think. He hadn't worn his Recruit's Uniform since he defeated Malladus. Few people should suspect him of such crimes.

"I don't believe what they say about you, Arizan; but something is fishy about this." Alfonzo said at last.

Arizan nodded but he could tell the Alfonzo was hiding something. He gave the old Engineer a queer look from under his long, blond hair and Alfonzo finally confessed.

"It's worse, actually," he said, "The black hijacker's got…..he's got the…..the….well…"

"Say it already!" Arizan bellowed.

"The Lokomo Sword! Alright?" Alfonzo replied, almost as loud. "They say he's got the Lokomo Sword. I don't know how but, he does. Or so they say."

Arizan was bewildered. _How could anyone have the Lokomo Sword?_ He thought, _It's locked away in the Tower of Spirits, guarded day and night by Phantoms. I'm the only one allowed access to it. Unless….no…it can't be. _His train of thought was leading him to a bad place. He could see that Alfonzo was worried.

"We must visit the Tower of Spirits," Arizan said after a bit. "But first I must find the Princess."

"Agreed," Alfonzo said, "We have to clear your name, and what's more we must find out about these hijackers."

Arizan nodded in agreement. "We cannot get there tonight," he said.

"Why?" Alfonzo asked.

"The Royal Engineering Company will not allow me to make use of their train for anything but my regular rounds unless it is for Official Company business. I have no way of getting anywhere until we reach the Tower of Spirits where the Spirit Train is."

"That can be mended," Alfonzo said, a smile crossing his mouth. "Follow me."

Arizan nodded and followed his old Mentor to the Train Shop. Alfonzo opened the door and stepped inside. Arizan followed and stood on the threshold, eyes wide.


	3. Chapter 3: Old Friends

Arizan stood bewildered at the beautiful Locomotive right in front of him. It was similar to Alfonzo's old train; the one that had been destroyed by Cole and Byrne, but it was far more ornate and had a fancy gold trim on it.

Alfonzo could see the bewilderment in Arizan's eyes, which seemed to say "Where on earth did you get this?"

"This is what I've been doing in my spare time," Alfonzo said. "I've been working on this train since before I took you as my apprentice. She's not quite finished but we're on the clock right now so I don't have time to put on the—er—fancy gear. We need to make all haste to Castle Town and you're tired. Take a nap if you can, this thing roars like the Demon King."

He chuckled at this last joke, though Arizan thought it hardly worthy of being called one. Alfonzo flung the doors wide and began fueling the fire. Arizan climbed into the passenger car and laid down to rest. He soon felt the train lurch forward and begin the journey to Castle Town. He closed his eyes and grinned; he couldn't help but notice that the train did not 'roar like the Demon King'. He chuckled himself to sleep and began to dream. In the dream, he could feel himself, killing innocent people and leading a band of thieves though he could not figure out why. Suddenly he was awakened by Alfonzo.

"Get up, kid!" he said, "No time to go sleeping now, the Princess needs you!"

Arizan sat up immediately and stepped out of the car. He looked down and saw a lone figure, sleeping on the station, her dress soaked with tears and even more tears running down her face. Arizan felt a sudden compassion wash over him. He recognized the figure as the Princess, though she had changed much since Arizan saw her last. Arizan stooped beside the Princess and looked into her face. He saw a beauty in that face; a beauty he had not even noticed on their last adventure together. Another feeling washed over him though he could not distinguish it. He looked at Alfonzo and then at the Princess. Alfonzo knew exactly what he meant and walked over to the sleeping Zelda. He gently picked her up and put her in the passenger car.

"Keep an eye on her, will you?" the Engineer asked.

Arizan nodded and Alfonzo walked into Castle Town without a word of explanation. Arizan climbed into the passenger car where the sleeping Princess lay. Arizan couldn't help but admire her beauty again; he was staring into her closed eyes and didn't move or speak.

Zelda slowly opened her eyes and looked into Arizan's face. She too noticed how handsome he was; something that she hadn't noticed in their old adventures together. Sleepily she asked: "Where am I?"

"You are in the passenger car of Alfonzo's train," he replied.

"Oh," She said and sat up, blinking under the lantern light. The two said nothing more, obviously a bit nervous around each other. After a few minutes of waiting, Alfonzo returned holding a sword.

"I was able to borrow this from old Russell, I'm surprised he's still involved up there," he said, tossing the sword to Arizan. "My fighting days are over but I imagine it will be some use to you, Arizan."

Arizan accepted the sword gratefully and, leaving the Princess to her privacy, walked out and stood in the engine with Alfonzo. The fire was built up again and the train lurched forward, heading toward the Tower of Spirits. Alfonzo noticed that Arizan seemed a bit on edge.

"Something's bothering you, Arizan," he said looking over at him.

"Yes," Arizan replied.

"Tell me," Alfonzo said, seemingly interested.

"It's the Princess," Arizan said at last. Alfonzo smiled. "What do you think? She's extremely beautiful and it doesn't appear that she has changed much since we last met. After we discover the meaning of all this…" Arizan's voice trailed off.

"Do what you want, Arizan," Alfonzo replied. "If you think she's the girl for you. It is your life. If that is how you feel, give it a shot!"

"I will think about it," Arizan said. "I wonder if she feels the same about me."

Alfonzo was surprised; Arizan rarely spoke more than necessary. It was strange for him to speak his thoughts like that. He said nothing but continued driving the train. The Tower was coming into view; Arizan became anxious to see whether the rumors were true.

In the passenger car, Zelda was thinking hard. _Should I tell them about Teacher?_ She asked herself. _Why else would they have come? I know Arizan; he would never kidnap me. I suppose I had better ask him for help. _Just at that moment, Arizan walked into the car and Zelda felt relieved.

"Arizan there's…something I need to tell you," she said.

"Tell me," he replied, relieved that she had spoken first.

"It's about Teacher. I'm sure you remember him," she began; Arizan nodded. "Well, he's gone. I don't know where he went, but he left Castle Town a few hours ago. I would appreciate it if you would help me find him."

"Of course!" Arizan replied. "But I will need some help from you in return."

"What would you require?" The Princess asked, curious as to why the Hero of Spirits would be asking her for help.

"Rumors have begun to spread," he began, "A man dressed in a black uniform, much like my old uniform, has been leading a group of thieves in hijacking trains. Many believe that I am involved. We are travelling to the Tower of Spirits, for Alfonzo has heard that this Black man is wielding the Lokomo Sword. I need to see if these rumors are true."

"Where do I fit in?" Zelda asked, obviously interested.

"I can't travel alone," Arizan said, smiling, "and Alfonzo's getting far too old to be much use on an adventure; though he will still tag along."

Zelda leaped for joy a hundred times inside but on the outside she remained quite calm. "You want me to join you in this quest?" she said, Arizan nodded. "I accept!" she exclaimed happily. Arizan, in turn, leaped for joy a hundred times on the inside but on the outside he only smiled at the Princess and took her hand in his, kissing it. He turned and walked back outside and Zelda only blushed, feeling quite happy with herself. She felt the train beginning to slow down; they were arriving at the Tower.

* * *

Author's Note:

I realize it has been a long time since I updated this story and, to be quite honest, I thought nobody took any interest in it. If you read this, I would like to ask that you write a review. Nothing too long just something simple like: 'Cool' or 'This is good' or even if it is terrible. I would just like to know whether people read my story or not,

Sincerely,

~Beardless Dwarf


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